Fact-checking Chael Sonnen: Rhetoric vs. reality in drug fail

On Tuesday, Chael Sonnendefended himself in the wake of a drug test failure that prompted his removal from next month’s UFC 175. Sonnen made several claims about the circumstances surrounding the situation, and like many interviews given by the UFC star, there were statements of truth and those that stretched the definition – or were outright false.

Here is a look at some of Sonnen’s statements and how they measure up with reality.

Anastrozole and clomiphene, the substances for which Sonnen tested positive in a random NSAC drug test, are “banned” as opposed to “illegal.”

Fact: Anastrozole and clomiphene are legal drugs frequently prescribed by doctors, the latter of which is frequently prescribed by endocrinologists who seek to stimulate testosterone production in men such as Sonnen who suffer from hypogonadism, an inability to produce testosterone.

Anastrozole and clomiphene are not performance-enhancing drugs, anabolics, or steroids.

Fact: Anastrozole, more commonly known by its commercial name, Arimidex, is a drug used to treat women with breast cancer. It also inhibits estrogen production and reportedly stimulates testosterone production. Clomiphene also stimulates testosterone production. When used illicitly, the drugs are used as a compliment to anabolic steroids, helping the body to naturally produce testosterone after the use of synthetic testosterone.

“I could not have been more open or more transparent, whether it was “UFC Tonight,” (or) whether it was different interviews in different places. Anybody I could tell that I could talk to about this, I did.”

Fact: Sonnen, who twice received therapeutic-use exemptions from the NSAC to use TRT, did address his plans after the commission banned the treatment earlier this year. Initially, in March, he said he would look into options for restarting natural testosterone production, though he cautioned there were “moving parts” and added that he may have to retire if he couldn’t find a way to elevate his hormones to a healthy level.

One month later, in late April, he told FOX Sports he was three weeks away from being in compliance with the NSAC’s licensing requirements.

Sonnen declined, however, to give specifics about his regimen, which he said was selected by his doctor, and added, “if I find something and it works and I go, ‘Oh, my goodness, I can’t believe this works,’ I don’t think I would share it. I think it would be a competitive edge and competitive secret as much as anything else. As long as it’s within the rules, that’s what I’d try to do.”

While Sonnen did talk about his “transition phase” in a general way, he did not share his specific plans with the NSAC, the fighter admitted and NSAC officials confirmed to MMAjunkie. Of course, he was under no specific obligation to do so, as the NSAC did not require previous TUE recipients to disclose post-TRT plans.

“The only opportunity you’re ever given to disclose medication you’re on is in competition.”

Fact: According to the World Anti-Doping Agency, the term “in competition” specifically relates to drug testing “where an athlete is selected for testing in connection with specific competition.” Out-of-competition, meanwhile, is any testing that is not in competition.

As part of its licensing process, the NSAC requires fighters to fill out a pre-fight medical questionnaire. Among other information, the document, which is distributed on the day of an event’s weigh-ins, asks potential licensees to disclose any medications and/or over the counter medications they have taken in the previous two weeks.

Beyond that, any additional disclosure is not specifically required – unless a licensee seeks a therapeutic-use exemption in conjunction with his/her license application. Sonnen could not apply for a TUE for TRT, because the commission banned those exemptions. But he could have applied for one in order to use anastrozole, clomiphene, or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which are banned both in-competition and out-of-competition, according to the WADA list that the NSAC follows.

Of course, because those substances reside on WADA’s banned list, Sonnen could have faced a heavy burden in receiving permission to use them.

“This (test) was out-of-competition. This was done by a separate lab known as USADA – it’s the finest lab in the world.”

Fact: According to NSAC chair Francisco Aguilar, Sonnen was licensed to compete in Nevada at the time of his random test. NSAC statutes allow licensees to be drug tested at any time they hold a license, and in his case, the test was ordered in conjunction with his fight at UFC 175 against Wanderlei Silva, who also was randomly tested.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is not a drug testing laboratory, but a non-governmental organization that oversees and manages drug testing according to WADA standards. While it collects samples for drug testing, those samples are analyzed at WADA labs.

It is unknown whether USADA was involved with Sonnen’s random test, but the procedure ultimately was done on behalf of the NSAC.

“Even if I had disclosed or hadn’t disclosed, you have to understand, this (testing) is out-of-competition. An athlete does not have to remain off medication 365 days of the year. Not in the NCAA, not in the [International Olympic Committee], and not even with the [NSAC].”

Fact: The NCAA, IOC and NSAC all abide by WADA standards for drugs banned in-competition and out-of-competition, and the substances for which Sonnen tested positive are banned out-of-competition, which means he needed a TUE to stay within the rules.

“The former executive director (Keith Kizer) has many quotes out there, that I will download and I will bring into the commission when I appeal this thing, stating that there’s a significant difference between game-day and the other 364 days a year.”

Kizer, who served as the NSAC’s executive director from 2006 to early 2014, spoke on many occasions about banned substances, including testosterone. He frequently defended a licensee’s right to use such a banned substance in-competition in cases where a legitimate medical need was proven, saying combat athletes should not be denied the rights of others for treatment.

Kizer spoke specifically about the challenges of in- and out-of-competition as it related to marijuana, which is detectable in the body long after its active effects have subsided. The commission later followed WADA’s suit in raising the testing threshold so that competitors who used the drug out-of-competition would not be penalized.

“[The commission] doesn’t know what these (banned substances) are, and therefore, I get punished. They shouldn’t even be asking me. They should go to their doctor and say, ‘Do you agree with this treatment?'”

Fact: Sonnen was flagged by the NSAC and is likely to be temporarily suspended – pending a formal hearing – because he failed a random drug test ordered by the commission. The test was allowable under the terms of his licensure. Had he applied for a TUE to use the banned substances, the NSAC would have forwarded his request to NSAC medical consultant Timothy Trainor, who would have reviewed his treatment plan and determined whether the fighter was eligible for an exemption.

“When you’re out-of-competition, if you’re not on an anabolic, if you’re not on an illegal substance, if you’re not on a steroid or a performance-enhancer of any kind, that is acceptable. I took, under the care of a physician, a perfectly legal medication that is not a performance-enhancer.

Fact: WADA’s out-of-competition list includes several substances that are not anabolics or so-called performance-enhancers and are yet banned year-round, including those for which Sonnen tested positive.

“I have a legitimate medical need for testosterone. I was not an abuser – I was a user of testosterone, so when you come off this, and you have a medical need, you must transition. What you’ll take is clomiphene and hCG – this also serves as a fertility drug. I was having fertility issues. “

Fact: A doctor who reviewed Sonnen’s medical history for his second TUE with Nevada concluded that his initial diagnosis of hypogonadism was not definitive. She also raised questions about the procedure used to diagnose him with hypogonadism, though she noted that the fighter appeared to properly use testosterone replacement.

After his 2010 failure for an elevated T/E ratio, which came when he failed to disclose his TRT use for a bout in California with Anderson Silva, Sonnen stayed at or below the normal levels of testosterone for men his age for two TUEs in Nevada/

Dr. Jeffrey Brown, an endocrinologist familiar with Sonnen’s case, said he frequently prescribes clomiphene to restart testosterone production in men and help with fertility issues.

“That’s certainly possible,” he said in response to the fighter’s reasoning. “I would certainly use something like that, though I wouldn’t use the anastrozole. But clomiphene I use all the time to increase male hormone.”

“If I challenge you right now to go find [the rules] out, how are you going to do it? Is there a website you can go to? Is there an 800 number you can go to? Is there somebody’s office door you can knock on? No. This is how we find out the rules. They never tell us the rules until they tell us we’re in violation of them.”

Fact: In regards to Nevada’s rules, the state has a website with a number for athletes to call. Additionally, the commission’s headquarters are located in Las Vegas. Sonnen previously visited the commission when getting permission to undergo testosterone-replacement therapy. On the topic of banned substances, the NSAC’s website contains a FAQ section that addresses drugs and medications.

“This was a test done by USADA. It never came with that form. This is the only test I’ve taken in the history of my competition and participation in Nevada that didn’t come with that disclosure form. “

Fact: As previously noted, the pre-fight medical questionnaire is given out on the day of weigh-ins for an event. With a random test, a fighter is asked to sign a release which allows the NSAC to make drug testing results public.

As of this writing, MMAjunkie could not immediately verify whether any additional paperwork is given during a random test, or whether USADA had a role in the random test. If, however, USADA did have a role, the organization’s procedures state that an athlete will be given paperwork to declare any substance or medication they may have taken, as well as any TUEs they received.

“I took a legal substance that I need to operate within the rules, of which they changed, and to be a parent.”

Fact: To operate within the rules, Sonnen was required to refrain from using drugs on WADA’s banned list. Had he not been licensed at the time of his test, or had he received permission to use the drugs, he would not have been violating the law to use them as an individual. But because he received a combat sports license from the NSAC, there were restrictions on what substances he could and couldn’t use.

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